Cadbury Schweppes is to axe 10% of its 55,000-strong workforce in a bid to cut costs.

The group added it will also close around 20% of its factories around the world.

The move is part of plans to cut costs by £400m a year across the group's business, a programme that will cost the firm an estimated £900m between 2004 and 2007.

Cadbury did not specify in which countries the job cuts would be made or whether its 7,000 UK workers would be affected.

But chief executive Todd Stitzer said that "as and when we take action, people will be spoken to sensitively and thoughtfully".

More cuts

About two weeks ago, the group announced the closure of two factories in the UK - a plant in Manchester that makes Halls cough sweets and the group's Trebor plant in Chesterfield - with the loss of about 550 jobs.

A company spokesman told the BBC that "it was not in a position to offer any further details of where the cuts will come, or when."

The firm said it aimed to use some of the savings made from the job cuts to promote products in geographical areas where they have not been traditionally strong, such as chewing gum in the UK.

The Dairy Milk chocolate maker also said it had put its usual growth targets on hold while it integrates the US-based Adams sweets and chewing gum business.

Cadbury bought Adams for $4.2bn (£2.52bn) in March this year.

Dismal summer

On Sunday, the firm had announced it was planning a shake-up in an effort to put its business back on track.

The decision followed a dismal summer for earnings and sales at the firm.

In July, it announced pre-tax profits for the six months to mid-June came in at £294m ($470m), down by nearly a third compared with the same period last year.

It also admitted its cost base was "out of line" with its requirements.

The summer heatwave did little to improve the group's situation, with confectionary sales slipping in August, while it also complained of tough market conditions in the US drinks market and the Asia-Pacific region.